Enter Valhalla
TS Member
Having recently visited Djurs and Fårup in Denmark and Energylandia in Poland, one thing that really struck me is how, despite them being in what I’d consider relatively cold countires, all three have outdoor water parks.
It got me thinking could a UK park support an outdoor water park as a second gate?
People’s initial response is likely to be that the UK is simply too cold, or unpredictable weather wise, but in response, I’d say a few things. Firstly, Denmark and Poland seem to manage it and they have (as far as I’m aware) climates pretty similar to the UK.
Also, we do have a very small number of outdoor water parks in the UK. Splashdown at Quaywest in Devon for example is a standalone fully outdoor water park, and that’s been there for years: https://www.splashdownwaterparks.co.uk/quaywest/
Near where I live, there’s the very popular Aldershot Lido, which although not a full scale water park, does have a huge outdoor pool, three large water slides and a diving board. Again it’s been there for years and last year they had their best summer on record in terms of visitor numbers: https://www.placesleisure.org/centres/aldershot-lido/?&utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=button
With this in mind, I don’t think it’s a completely bizarre suggestion that one of the UK’s theme parks could open a summer season water park, which would be great for heatwaves and provide families with a cheaper alternative than the main theme park, as well as taking some of the pressure away from the main theme parks which are typically the most busy in the summer holidays.
What do people think? Is it a concept that would work here, like it does in Scandinavia? I know that indoor pools can be extremely expensive to run, with the cost of heating and lighting. Surely an outdoor water park would be a less costly option for the park operators?
Personally I’d love to see a modern outdoor water park in the UK and I reckon that one of the independent parks like Drayton or Paultons would be really suited to something like this.
What’s everyone’s thoughts?
It got me thinking could a UK park support an outdoor water park as a second gate?
People’s initial response is likely to be that the UK is simply too cold, or unpredictable weather wise, but in response, I’d say a few things. Firstly, Denmark and Poland seem to manage it and they have (as far as I’m aware) climates pretty similar to the UK.
Also, we do have a very small number of outdoor water parks in the UK. Splashdown at Quaywest in Devon for example is a standalone fully outdoor water park, and that’s been there for years: https://www.splashdownwaterparks.co.uk/quaywest/
Near where I live, there’s the very popular Aldershot Lido, which although not a full scale water park, does have a huge outdoor pool, three large water slides and a diving board. Again it’s been there for years and last year they had their best summer on record in terms of visitor numbers: https://www.placesleisure.org/centres/aldershot-lido/?&utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=button
With this in mind, I don’t think it’s a completely bizarre suggestion that one of the UK’s theme parks could open a summer season water park, which would be great for heatwaves and provide families with a cheaper alternative than the main theme park, as well as taking some of the pressure away from the main theme parks which are typically the most busy in the summer holidays.
What do people think? Is it a concept that would work here, like it does in Scandinavia? I know that indoor pools can be extremely expensive to run, with the cost of heating and lighting. Surely an outdoor water park would be a less costly option for the park operators?
Personally I’d love to see a modern outdoor water park in the UK and I reckon that one of the independent parks like Drayton or Paultons would be really suited to something like this.
What’s everyone’s thoughts?
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